Hawaiian Senators want a return of Tourism to part of Maui

[emeryjre]

The Senators are also posting on X(Twitter) on the same topic

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[SmithOp]

Here is an update from HA, I have flights routed through OGG in October.

Per the Tourism Authority (HTA), areas outside of West Maui (including Kahului, Wailuku, Kīhei, Wailea, Mākena, Pāʻia and Hāna) remain open. Please contact your hotel/lodging accommodations to confirm your arrangements.

As of August 19, 2023, the State of Hawai‘i has issued a revision to the emergency proclamation relating to the Maui wildfires. As stated, non-essential travel to West Maui is strongly discouraged through October 17, 2023. Due to the evolving situation, please continue to check for any updates prior to your departure.

If you are connecting through the Kahului, Maui Airport (OGG) on your way to your final destination, your travel plans can remain the same.

Should you wish to change your travel plans, a travel waiver is available to you. Please review them here, as some options require your action by September 1, 2023.

If you did not book directly with Hawaiian Airlines, please contact your original ticket issuer for change and refund requests. If you are not traveling within the next 72 hours, we ask that you refrain from calling our Reservations Department at 1-800-367-5320 until a later date so that we may service guests with immediate needs. Mahalo for your patience as we work through the volume of requests.

Our hearts go out to Maui, where our friends, families and communities have suffered devastating losses from wildfires. We are committed to supporting the challenging road to recovery for our community, employees and guests through this difficult time.

 

[Kapolei]

People have to make up your own minds. Would you have visited Sumatra after the 2004 TsunamI? Not me.

 

[JIMinNC]

People have to make up your own minds. Would you have visited Sumatra after the 2004 TsunamI? Not me.

But that disaster impacted a much bigger area. Maui’s damage is much more localized. No, no one should be visiting Lahaina, but Wailea and Kihei need the business. As soon as it can be properly prepared, Kaanapali and Kapalua will as well.

 

[1Melanie]

But that disaster impacted a much bigger area. Maui’s damage is much more localized. No, no one should be visiting Lahaina, but Wailea and Kihei need the business. As soon as it can be properly prepared, Kaanapali and Kapalua will as well.

You are so right. Just stay away from Lahaina. And be respectful. Some of the people there are annoyed with tourists who expect everything to be business as usual. Do and see what you can on the down low. Kind of a double edged sword. You’ll be damned if you do and damned if you don’t.
And tip generously……..

 

[TravelTime]

It’s like saying do not visit Lake Tahoe because there was a fire in Lake Tahoe (which happened a few years ago). Or do not visit Napa or Sonoma because there was a fire near there (which has happened so many times). Why penalize an entire region?

 

[JIMinNC]

Part of the problem was the initial crisis messaging from the government officials, but the bigger issue seems to be the way this is all being reported in the media.

Given the pressure of dealing with an unexpected and rapidly unfolding disaster, I can cut the government officials a lot of slack for their initial messaging "Do not come to Maui. If you are here, please leave." It was a sledgehammer, when maybe a scalpel would have been the better tool, but that wasn't their top priority at the time. To their credit, they quickly pivoted within a few days and made it clear it was OK to go to Central and South Maui, but the damage had already been done to public perception, since those statements were all soundbites broadcast over and over on the TV news. Maybe they should have added "...for the next couple of weeks" to those initial statements, but they were in the middle of a disaster, so I can forgive them for the imprecise messaging.

The bigger problem, I think, is the national news media - who should know better - continues to make statements like the one I heard just last night, referring to "The devastated island of Maui." For someone who is only an occasional or first timer visitor, I can easily see how they could come away with the impression that the entire island was a disaster area. I've read multiple comments on various Facebook pages in the last two weeks with multiple people asking "Did Mama's Fish House burn down?" or "I heard a lot of Kihei burned down?" The majority of people don't know much about Maui geography, so they come away with the impression that Maui is destroyed, not just Lahaina. I've even seen people post, "Is it still OK to go to Kauai or Oahu?"

Someone in the Hawaii Tourism Authority needs to get busy and start doing some proactive national PR about what IS open for business or a disaster that has affected 15,000 or so people in Lahaina is going to grow into a disaster that will negatively affect many more of the 150,000 or so people on Maui.

 

[Ken555]

Part of the problem was the initial crisis messaging from the government officials, but the bigger issue seems to be the way this is all being reported in the media.

Given the pressure of dealing with an unexpected and rapidly unfolding disaster, I can cut the government officials a lot of slack for their initial messaging "Do not come to Maui. If you are here, please leave." It was a sledgehammer, when maybe a scalpel would have been the better tool, but that wasn't their top priority at the time. To their credit, they quickly pivoted within a few days and made it clear it was OK to go to Central and South Maui, but the damage had already been done to public perception, since those statements were all soundbites broadcast over and over on the TV news. Maybe they should have added "...for the next couple of weeks" to those initial statements, but they were in the middle of a disaster, so I can forgive them for the imprecise messaging.

The bigger problem, I think, is the national news media - who should know better - continues to make statements like the one I heard just last night, referring to "The devastated island of Maui." For someone who is only an occasional or first timer visitor, I can easily see how they could come away with the impression that the entire island was a disaster area. I've read multiple comments on various Facebook pages in the last two weeks with multiple people asking "Did Mama's Fish House burn down?" or "I heard a lot of Kihei burned down?" The majority of people don't know much about Maui geography, so they come away with the impression that Maui is destroyed, not just Lahaina. I've even seen people post, "Is it still OK to go to Kauai or Oahu?"

Someone in the Hawaii Tourism Authority needs to get busy and start doing some proactive national PR about what IS open for business or a disaster that has affected 15,000 or so people in Lahaina is going to grow into a disaster that will negatively affect many more of the 150,000 or so people on Maui.

Yes. But, this shouldn’t surprise anyone. We know how the media responds to anything (overly dramatic) and we know how people respond (without facts).

What you didn’t mention is the social media comments from Maui residents, many of whom appear to be acting against their own interests by promoting the notion that tourists should stay away. As with the other examples you noted, many of them have also changed their messaging to be more specific. I joined a Maui Facebook group, and the commentary is mixed but clear that locals are arguing amongst themselves as to the correct response.

I believe the best thing I can do to support Maui is to visit when appropriate, and while there visit friends and family. I haven’t canceled my scheduled December visit and it certainly seems like the area north of Lahaina should be open for business by then. As I’ve posted before, if they aren’t open by December then they will have significantly greater problems to figure out.


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[dannybaker]

Can you imagine if Florida shut down every time a disaster hit?

 

[JIMinNC]

Yes. But, this shouldn’t surprise anyone. We know how the media responds to anything (overly dramatic) and we know how people respond (without facts).

What you didn’t mention is the social media comments from Maui residents, many of whom appear to be acting against their own interests by promoting the notion that tourists should stay away. As with the other examples you noted, many of them have also changed their messaging to be more specific. I joined a Maui Facebook group, and the commentary is mixed but clear that locals are arguing amongst themselves as to the correct response.

I believe the best thing I can do to support Maui is to visit when appropriate, and while there visit friends and family. I haven’t canceled my scheduled December visit and it certainly seems like the area north of Lahaina should be open for business by then. As I’ve posted before, if they aren’t open by December then they will have significantly greater problems to figure out.


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Agree. The way the mass media is reporting it is sadly, entirely predictable.

On social media, given the way the algorithms work, I wonder how much of the broader general public sees those negative comments from some residents, or if those comments get more directed to those of us with closer ties, more knowledge of the island?

While there are always the normal anti-tourism voices that seem to be the loudest, even if they aren't always the majority, I do think there is also probably a lot of mixed emotions amongst the Maui locals who are not normally part if that anti-tourist crowd. On the one hand, they feel they need time to get their lives back together, but they also understand the importance of tourism to their future on the island. I'm sure it's a difficult choice.

As someone who owns a part-time condo residence in Hilton Head Island, SC in addition to our regular home in Charlotte, I do understand the anti-tourist feelings in Hawaii. Because we spend a lot of time on HHI and have friends who live there full time, we don't think of ourselves as tourists when we are there, but tourists on vacation can be annoying. I see how the short-term renters at our condo complex treat our common areas, and I see and hear horror stories from other owners who rent their units on the short term market about how their renters flout the rules and show little consideration for others. I get it. But I also know, if it weren't for the tourists, Hilton Head would not have the amazing restaurants, golf courses, and other amenities that it offers all of us - full-time residents, part-time residents, and tourists.

 

[ScoopKona]

Can you imagine if Florida shut down every time a disaster hit?

It's not nearly as difficult to get an entire town worth of building materials to Naples.

 

[JIMinNC]

It's not nearly as difficult to get an entire town worth of building materials to Naples.

All the more reason for Maui to figure out a plan to appropriately reopen West Maui once the broader infrastructure outside of immediate Lahaina town is stabilized. It will take years/decades to truly rebuild Lahaina - even without the inevitable upcoming fights over what that rebuilding will look like. The rest of the island can't wait for Lahaina to be rebuilt before getting it's economic engines restarted.

 

[ScoopKona]

All the more reason for Maui to figure out a plan to appropriately reopen West Maui once the broader infrastructure outside of immediate Lahaina town is stabilized. It will take years/decades to truly rebuild Lahaina - even without the inevitable upcoming fights over what that rebuilding will look like. The rest of the island can't wait for Lahaina to be rebuilt before getting it's economic engines restarted.

The missing are still missing. The ground is quite toxic. So is the water in that area. And when it rains, all of that is going straight into the Pacific.

Unfortunately, if Maui is declared "open for business except West Maui," some people are going to go there anyway. If West Maui is declared "open for business but do not stop in Lahaina," some people are going to do that, anyway.

I don't know what the ratio is in Maui, but in Las Vegas, it was nearly 1:1 -- for every visitor, there was someone working in the hospitality industry to take care of that visitor. It's not nearly that in Maui -- there's no gaming and no conventions. And visitors usually outnumber residents. But was already hard to find a place to live. And even if people can find a place, rent is about the same as San Francisco. Where's everyone going to go? We have a real problem on the Big Island with visiting nurses and physicians not able to find a place to live and being forced to leave -- and they make a very high salary. What's the pool guy going to do?

People have forgotten that Maui was floating ideas to limit tourism numbers all last year. There was too much strain on the place before the fire. It's not going to get any better now that there is an entire town of displaced families.

 

[JIMinNC]

The missing are still missing. The ground is quite toxic. So is the water in that area. And when it rains, all of that is going straight into the Pacific.

Unfortunately, if Maui is declared "open for business except West Maui," some people are going to go there anyway. If West Maui is declared "open for business but do not stop in Lahaina," some people are going to do that, anyway.

I don't know what the ratio is in Maui, but in Las Vegas, it was nearly 1:1 -- for every visitor, there was someone working in the hospitality industry to take care of that visitor. It's not nearly that in Maui -- there's no gaming and no conventions. And visitors usually outnumber residents. But was already hard to find a place to live. And even if people can find a place, rent is about the same as San Francisco. Where's everyone going to go? We have a real problem on the Big Island with visiting nurses and physicians not able to find a place to live and being forced to leave -- and they make a very high salary. What's the pool guy going to do?

People have forgotten that Maui was floating ideas to limit tourism numbers all last year. There was too much strain on the place before the fire. It's not going to get any better now that there is an entire town of displaced families.

If they do as you suggest and close Maui until some indefinite time in 2024 or later, what happens to the surviving small businesses that depend on tourism dollars? Who is going to pay the debt on their catamarans used for snorkel tours or whale watches or the rent at restaurants in undamaged Whaler's Village in Kaanapali? They have to find a way to balance the needs of those impacted directly and secure the disaster area, while allowing those not damaged to keep their businesses alive. As in most things in life, they need to navigate a middle ground that allows undamaged businesses to reopen and do business sometime in the next couple months or so, while also focusing on the longer term recovery in Lahaina itself.

 

[ScoopKona]

If they do as you suggest and close Maui until some indefinite time in 2024 or later, what happens to the surviving small businesses that depend on tourism dollars? Who is going to pay the debt on their catamarans used for snorkel tours or whale watches or the rent at restaurants in undamaged Whaler's Village in Kaanapali? They have to find a way to balance the needs of those impacted directly and secure the disaster area, while allowing those not damaged to keep their businesses alive. As in most things in life, they need to navigate a middle ground that allows undamaged businesses to reopen and do business sometime in the next couple months or so, while also focusing on the longer term recovery in Lahaina itself.

It's hard to ask people to "find a middle ground" when it's been unrestricted, unfettered, do-what-ever-you-want tourism for so long.

I'm not suggesting that Maui be closed. And once it is safe to drive to the resorts in West Maui (either through Lahaina or the long way), those should open too.

But where are all the residents going to live? There weren't enough houses to go around before the fire. And the practice of "buying something, not living there, and using it as vacation property" isn't doing the place any favors, either. All the foreign investment and unpermitted AirBnb activity also isn't doing the place any favors.

I remember watching a Ted talk. A flight attendant talked about giving CPR to a passenger. And someone asked her to "freshen my coffee." That's the vibe I get from travel forums of late.

 

[Luanne]

Can you imagine if Florida shut down every time a disaster hit?

No one has ever said the entire state of Hawaii should shut down. No one has even said the entire county of Maui should shut down.

 

[Ken555]

It's hard to ask people to "find a middle ground" when it's been unrestricted, unfettered, do-what-ever-you-want tourism for so long.

While I understand this perspective, it is incorrect. Note that no tourist votes in Maui - this is why timeshares pay much more in property taxes than hotels. If too much tourist development has been approved, you have only to look at your own local government as to the reason why.

And now you’re going to post a diatribe on a tangential topic in response.


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[ScoopKona]

And now you’re going to post a diatribe on a tangential topic in response.

You must live in some country where legislators enact the will of the people instead of "whoever has the most money to throw around." Maui has been trying to put the brakes on tourist numbers all year. Impact fees, a tourist lottery -- basically they're throwing pizzas at the wall and seeing if anything sticks.

I have a feeling that whatever is done will be done despite the wishes of the majority -- same as usual.

 

[Ken555]

You must live in some country where legislators enact the will of the people instead of "whoever has the most money to throw around." Maui has been trying to put the brakes on tourist numbers all year. Impact fees, a tourist lottery -- basically they're throwing pizzas at the wall and seeing if anything sticks.

I have a feeling that whatever is done will be done despite the wishes of the majority -- same as usual.

Oh, yawn. Tell us something we don’t know. I’m not defending the politicians, I’m just tired of your constant nattering.


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[emeryjre]

I remember watching a Ted talk. A flight attendant talked about giving CPR to a passenger. And someone asked her to "freshen my coffee." That's the vibe I get from travel forums of late.

The statement strikes a chord for me

 

[easyrider]

Those of us who frequent Maui know the problems regarding traffic. Kahului Harbor is the main shipping port for materials needed to re-build Lahaina. If you stay in West Maui or South Maui you would most likely be in the way of clean up efforts and re-building efforts by clogging up the roads.

Bill

 

[JIMinNC]

I'm not suggesting that Maui be closed. And once it is safe to drive to the resorts in West Maui (either through Lahaina or the long way), those should open too.

This might be easier than you are assuming. The Lahaina bypass (Route 3000) was largely untouched by the fires, and all the businesses along Keawe Street that connects the bypass to Honoapiilani Highway at Cannery Mall appeared to be largely spared as well. While there were a few neighborhoods just north of that Mall that were burned, I don't believe any of them directly front the highway. North of the Post Office and Civic Center, everything is intact. While I'm not on the ground there, just looking at the aerial photos that have been shared by Maui County, it would appear providing access to Kaanapali via Route 3000 to Keawe Street to Honoapiilani Highway may indeed be viable without requiring visitors to navigate the dangerous narrow north road around by Kahakuloa. Access to the core burn area could be controlled by a roadblock south of Cannery Mall on Honoapilliani Highway.

Of course they need to make sure power is stable, cell service is stable, and the water issues are not impacting those areas. This all assumes that since Cannery Mall is intact, that Safeway and Longs Drugs can reopen in the next couple months along with Walgeens across the road. The bigger issue may be the several gas stations along Honoapiilani Highway in Lahaina that were destroyed and how to replace that refueling capacity.

I'm certainly not suggesting that anyone should expect tourism in West Maui for the next month or two, but given the stuff that is still intact, targeting the 2023 holiday season for a tourism restart doesn't seem all that outlandish. The small businesses may need that to happen or else...

 

[geist1223]

To heck with the locals. Build them family dorms with cafeterias. The only reason the Islands exist is to service tourists.

 

[ScoopKona]

Of course they need to make sure power is stable, cell service is stable, and the water issues are not impacting those areas. This all assumes that since Cannery Mall is intact, that Safeway and Longs Drugs can reopen in the next couple months along with Walgeens across the road. The bigger issue may be the several gas stations along Honoapiilani Highway in Lahaina that were destroyed and how to replace that refueling capacity.

I'm certainly not suggesting that anyone should expect tourism in West Maui for the next month or two, but given the stuff that is still intact, targeting the 2023 holiday season for a tourism restart doesn't seem all that outlandish. The small businesses may need that to happen or else...

The people who work there still need a place to live. And there's not enough of that to go around right now.

I think people should read this article about the 2018 Maui wildfire: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/maui-officials-warned-lahaina-wildfires-2018-critics-rcna101515

This should never have happened in the first place.

 

[pspercy]

At least the Lahaina bypass is there now so Kaanapali and points North are accessible without having to drive white knuckle Kahekili !

As for media “reporting”, some ignorant type was reporting on Oprah’s purchase of acreage in “Southeast Lahaina”. Never heard Kula described like that before.